Diagnostic & Troubleshooting Flashcards
What are troubleshooting steps?
- Gather information & symptoms
- Isolate the problem
- Implement a solution
- Problem solved? If not, repeat steps 2 & 3
- Document the steps you took for future reference
How can you gather information?
- Question end-users
- Protocol analyzers (Wireshark, etc)
- Physical troubleshooting tools (cable tester, others)
- Network management software
- CMD network commands
- show and debug commands
- IP SLA: monitors network performances in real-time
- Neighbor Discovery Protocols
What are the OSI troubleshooting methods?
- Bottom-Up
- Top-Down
- Divide & Conquer
What is Bottom-Up troubleshooting method?
The starting point is at the bottom of the OSI model, the physical layer.
The examination starts from the network’s infrastructure such as cables and NICs
What is the Top-Down troubleshooting method?
The starting point is at the top of the OSI model, the application layer.
The examination starts from the application itself
What does documentation include?
Network-related notes: physical and logical topological diagrams, network and end-device backup configuration files, IP and MAC addressing schemes, and network performance baselines
What is the Divide & Conquer troubleshooting method?
Starting point is not predefined. A particular layer is selected and examined. If the layer functions, then the next layer to examine is the one above it. if the layer is faulty, then the next one should be the one below it.
What are the top IOS show commands?
- show interfaces
- show ip route
- show ip interface brief
- show running-config
- show startup-config
IOS command: show interface
Displays a large volume of info, including interface errors, bandwidth utilization, and interface speed
IOS Command: show ip route
Verifies network reachability. Will indicate if routing protocols are operating as they should
IOS Command: show ip interface brief
Presents only info about interfaces associated w/ the the IP protocol. Outputs a detailed summary of interface status and IP addresses
IOS Command: show running-config
Displays the complete device configuration that is being used at that time
IOS Command: show startup-config
Displays the complete device configuration that is being used when it loads
IOS Command: traceroute
Discovers the path packets take to a remote destination and where routing failures occur
IOS Command: ping
Checks network connectivity. Extended ping is able to change the source IP on the packet leaving the router
What is Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP)?
Layer 2 (data link) proprietary protocol enabled by default on all Cisco devices. Purpose is similar to NDP.
Can be disabled on specific devices or interfaces for security reasons
What are CDP characteristics?
- Eavesdropping - CDP does not encrypt data so it’s vulnerable to reconnaissance type attacks which allow the attacker to map the victim’s network and more
- Information gathering - gathers data on local device and sends to all directly connected devices
- Advertisements - packets that reveal device details to neighbors also running CDP. Advertisements are stored in the neighbor table
What do CDP Advertisements include?
- Type of device (router/switch)
- Device name
- Interconnected interfaces
- IOS version
- Next-hop IP
- Connection’s duplex mode (full or half)
What is mismatch detection?
Feature (in CDP) that can detect a protocol mismatch.
E.g. Native VLAN mismatch and Duplex mismatch
What happens when a CDP mismatch occurs?
CDP notifies network administrator by recording the incident in a log.
How long is the CDP packet timer?
CDP sends advertisement packets every 60 seconds by default to all directly connected devices
IOS Command: show cdp
Displays global CDP info: (1) packet timer, (2) holdtime value (3) advertisements enabled/disabled
What is the CDP hold timer?
If a device does not receive CDP packets from a neighbor for 180 seconds, it will consider the neighbor dead and remove it from its neighbor table
IOS Command:
cdp run
Enables CDP on device (not port)
Recommended: Enable CDP only for port interconnections w/ other network devices
IOS Command:
no cdp run
Disable CDP (on device not port)
IOS Command:
cdp enable
Enables CDP on specified port(s)
IOS Command:
no cdp enable
Disables CDP on specified port(s)
IOS Command:
show cdp neighbor
Displays all connected devices that CDP can communicate with
IOS Command:
show cdp neighbor detail
Displays more info on each device such as IP address and IOS version